MY ACCOUNT
Victor Osimhen will not let his Premier League ambitions prove a distraction to short-term objectives of firing Napoli to a Serie A and Champions League double.
The Nigerian striker has been linked with clubs including Chelsea and Manchester United, after hitting 19 goals in 20 Serie A games this season.
Napoli are charging towards a first Scudetto since 1990 and Osimhen’s goals have been crucial, drawing plenty of interest from Europe’s richest clubs.
He has two years remaining on his Napoli contract, but England appeals.
Now is not the time to be thinking about a move, though, with Osimhen wanting to focus on success at home and in Europe, with Napoli close to securing a Champions League quarter-final spot.
Winning 2-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of their last-16 tie means Napoli are on the charge in that competition too.
Asked about the Premier League, Osimhen said: “I think it is an ambition of all players. And who knows, one day…
“Right now, I assure you, it doesn’t even cross my mind. It would distract me from a beautiful season. Only Napoli.”
Speaking to the Corriere della Sera newspaper, Osimhen spoke of his blossoming attacking partnership with Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Osimhen spoke of there being “empathy from the first moment” between the pair, with Kvaratskhelia having joined last July from Dinamo Batumi.
“He is very strong, but also a golden boy. This matters to me,” said the 24-year-old Osimhen.
Napoli hold an 18-point lead over Inter and Milan with 14 rounds of games remaining, meaning it would take a spectacular collapse for them not to hang on to top spot.
They finished third last season, behind the San Siro duo, but the Naples giants are having it all their own way this time around.
According to Osimhen, this title assault stemmed from a conversation he had with midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa in pre-season, which was joined by coach Luciano Spalletti.
“There is a preserved photo that testifies to the moment,” Osimhen said. “It was summer and after a fairly hard training session I was talking to Anguissa.
“I said to him: ‘Frank, you know that our team is strong and we can really try to win the Scudetto.’
“He was sceptical and I convinced him. Spalletti approaches and asks us what we are talking about. I tell him, he looks at me and says: ‘If your team-mates are convinced, as you are, yes we can try.’
“This is how our beautiful story was born, made up of matches, training sessions, men who don’t spare themselves. Made of leaders.”
